Entering his 12th season in charge of the Carrollton High School football program, Rayvan Teague is tinkering with something he doesn’t do too often when it comes to his grunts in the trenches.
Through the first week of spring practice, the Trojan coach has kept a keen eye on the line of scrimmage, where an ongoing development is underway with three Carrollton linemen working both sides of the ball.
With three of his top defensive linemen also serving as some of the best bodies on the offensive front, it’s a situation Teague rarely envisions setting into motion, but he believes it may be the best option for his ball club in 2013.
The Carrollton staff has been working Cole Cook, Dontavius Russell and Murphy Hagen on both sides of the line, with Cook at his usual tight end spot offensively and swinging over to defensive tackle on the other side of the ball. Russell and Hagen — primarily used as defensive linemen in the past — will be alternating on the offensive line.
“I mean, they’re doing a great job with it, but it’s just very demanding. We’re so used to being two-platoon, especially with our front folks, that it’s an adjustment to my coaches and to the players,” Teague said.
With Russell already committed to the University of Georgia and Cook currently having nine offers, they represent two of the Trojans’ top commodities. Cook is confident his body will hold up for what he hopes is a rigorous, 15-game regimen this fall.
“I like it. Coach Teague told me that I’m going to be going both ways this year. So we’ve got to have the best guys out there. I’ve just got to do whatever I need to do to help the team, wherever that may be,” Cook said.
The other priority through the first week of spring has been unleashing a physical nature of play.
“I think the kids have put some really quality work in. We’ve been very physical. We’ve been on them and physically demanding. We’ve hit a ton in board drills, 3-on-3 to constant scrimmage-type middle drills. A lot of heavy reps with line versus line with the perimeter stuff. So we’ve put a lot of reps on them in a short period of time,” Teague said.
Carrollton, which finished 8-4 overall last season and second in Region 5-AAAA behind Sandy Creek, returns nine starters on offense, including the bulk of its skill guys.
Rising senior Wil Garrett is back under center to run the offense, while fellow senior Trey Chivers and sophomore Jarvis Terrell are a fast and formidable 1-2 punch out of the Trojan backfield, along with Malik Sheppard providing some pop when he puts his paws on the pigskin.
Garrett will assume full control of signal-caller duties this season after splitting reps with Will Hesterlee in 2012. The plan was to use both quarterbacks again, but Hesterlee informed Teague earlier this week that he’s decided not to play his senior season. That leaves rising sophomores Jack Garrett and Damarcus Mitchell to battle it out for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart.
Teague said he has all the confidence in Wil Garrett leading the offensive unit in 2013.
“He has a great grasp on the offense. He’s a leader. He’s got one of the best arms — if not the best arm — since I’ve been here. So we’re excited about what a healthy Wil Garrett can do this year,” Teague said.
Chivers is nearly fully recovered from meniscus surgery and has been cleared to resume football activities on June 1, while Terrell suffered a concussion on the first day of spring and watched in street clothes the rest of the week. But already knowing what those two bring to the field on Friday nights, Teague isn’t too concerned about them missing a few reps during the spring.
The Trojans have nearly installed their entire offense during the first week of spring and have also put a major onus on shoring up the defense.
“We’re slowly, but surely finding the pieces to the puzzle on the defensive side of the ball. We’re going to play defense first. I think we’re going to be able to put together a good defensive unit. Probably our biggest concern is that we’re going to have a lot of quality depth at the skill positions and the perimeter, but our concern right now is being able to rest our big guys,” Teague said.
Carrollton was either young or inexperienced in several areas last season, especially in the secondary.
Rising senior cornerback Caleb Johnson said that unit has come a long way and he’s looking forward to a healthy and shut-down effort this fall.
“I feel great on that side of the ball. I learned a lot last year and I got stronger from last year. So I feel like I should perform better than I did last year and I think our defense will be better, too,” Johnson said.
Johnson emerged as a star on the track for Carrollton this spring, leading the Trojans to a third-place finish in the 300 hurdles and also being a part of two relay teams that got on the podium. If the old adage that a strong spring on the track translates into a successful showing on the gridiron in the fall holds true, then Johnson could be in store for a stellar senior campaign.
“The track season, it really helped my speed and it also helped my mindset of where I need to be on the field,” Johnson said.
Teague said it’s literally night and day when you look at where the team was a year ago to where it is now.
“I mean, at this point last year we had two offensive starters and two defensive starters back. Not a single skill guy on offense or defense and now it’s just the opposite of that. We’re basically trying to fit in a couple of pieces and really working on depth,” Teague said. “It’s a real strong senior class, and I think we’re going to have some really good leadership out of them.”
Cook, one of those returning seniors, said he’s still got a bad taste in his mouth from the second-round playoff setback at Marist — an epic, five-overtime battle in Atlanta.
“I mean, the day after the Marist game, we knew then that we’ve got to start working to get ready for this year. So we didn’t really stop. We’ve just got to keep working hard and doing what we do. We’ve got to give that extra push and make it happen this year,” Cook said.
As for the recruiting process, Cook said Mississippi State, N.C. State, Missouri, Cincinnati and Boston College are his top five right now, but he doesn’t really have a favorite from that group yet. The Trojan star is hopeful of making his decision before the season starts, but added that he doesn’t want to rush anything, either.
“I’m blessed to experience it. I’m glad that God gave me the ability to do what I get to do. But I’m just out here trying to help us win a state title. All of that other stuff is going to take care of itself,” Cook said.
Carrollton wrapped up its first week of spring with a Friday scrimmage and enjoyed some festivities in the Hall of Fame Room for a community event. But come Monday, it’s back to business.
“We’re installing the kicking game, but basically against air. We want to see if we can get most of those special teams in place or at least have a good knowledge so that when we come out and start working on actually blocking and tackling off of special teams, we want to complete that. Then on the offensive side of the ball, we’re really looking at getting better from the center back to the left. Those guys are working hard and trying to get that in place,” Teague said.
“On the defensive line, we feel good about the three starters that play offense, too. But we really need three young kids or three more guys to come along on that side. So that’s really what we want to accomplish in Week 2. And not get anybody hurt, of course.”
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